Change the way you live and work – for the better

Alisa Verret has been involved in interior design for more than 25 years.
“My mother was a home-etc. teacher, so there was never a time when I was not around fabric and sewing and learning to sew different projects – and I always enjoyed it,” said Verret.
While working in her family’s large hardware store in Springfield she added a line of flooring and a custom drapery department to the store and developed a large clientele for interior design services.
After Hurricane Katrina, Verret was contacted by a fabric company and asked to become a sales rep for them which entailed going on the road for a territory from Houston to Tallahassee, Florida for several years. She went on to a similar job with another fabric company but eventually was ready to get off the road, so she decided it was time to open up her own interior design shop.

Alisa Verret Interiors offers an array of trim for drapery and fabrics for pillows and bedding.

Alisa Verret Interiors has a design showroom and custom workroom in Denham Springs where she specializes in custom drapery and other window treatments. She covers all aspects of custom window projects – in-home consultation, design services, project management, hardware selection and a perfect installation.
“My knowledge comes from years of experience buying and selling fabrics,” Verrett said. “I know how different types of fabrics will drape and what colors will look good. I have a builder I can bring in when needed, and we design, build, fabricate and install the window treatments. We really are a one-stop shop,” she stated.
While window treatments are her specialty, she also provides complete interior design services for homes and businesses including selecting furniture, choosing the flooring, picking out tile or granite for kitchens and bathroom and making custom bedding, as well as coordinating the colors for walls and fabrics for furniture.
If someone is building or renovating a home or office, the time to call Alisa Verret Interiors is as soon as the decision is made to start the project.
“I prefer to start working with the builder from the ground up,” said Verrett. “When I’m there from the beginning I can make sure all the colors coordinate and that the builder installs the proper window framing to support custom shutters, shades or drapes. This is especially important if the client wants motorized window treatments because the mechanisms can be heavy and the dimensions must be precise.

Alisa Verret shows some of the bold-colored drapery fabrics she has for making custom drapes for her customers.

Most of her customers are residential, but she does commercial work, too. She also works for other designers making drapes and shades for their projects. She worked with various designers for last year’s Parade of Homes in Baton Rouge and made all the window treatments for a multi-million dollar home, including custom motorized drapes, drapery hardware, plantation shutters, Roman shades, bedding, pillows and accessories.
Verret does a lot of work with home automation, not just for drapes but also for lighting, home security, climate control, screens, etc.
“I’m designing the interior for a house in Natchez for their fall pilgrimage – I’ve done two or three there before – and I do a lot of work in New Orleans, Covington and Mandeville. I’ve done a lot of work for homes in Magnolia Square in Central, too,” Verret said.
She also often provides the staging of homes for builders and realtors or for someone who is going the for-sale-by-owner route.
While Verrett enjoys working on projects from start to finish, she will consult with clients by the hour if they just want recommendations for remodeling, to select a color scheme or for her to redesign one room.
Verrett has an experienced staff of seamstresses, each of whom specializes in different types of projects such as drapes, Roman shades, custom bedding as well as embroidery and monogramming.
“I have hired local experienced seamstresses who are better than any commercial workers,” said Verret. “They hand-stitch the side seams of drapes, and it is the finest workmanship you’ll see.”
All of the work for Alisa Verret Interiors is done with local people – including her husband Perry Verret whom she recruited as her jack-of-all-trades after he retired from Exxon.
The business makes a point to use fabrics and other furnishings made in the USA as much as possible, even though that’s sometimes difficult to do for an entire project because so many manufacturers have gone to other countries.

“I’ve been encouraged recently, though, to see a lot of companies coming back and reopening their factories in the United States,” Verret shared. “I’m very glad to see that, not only because I like to buy local, but because the made-in-USA products are usually a better quality.”
Verret gets most of her jobs from word-of-mouth recommendations. She has developed a network of professional people, many of them clients she’s become friends with, and they recommend her to their friends and associates.
“I decorate homes the way each client wants it; after all it is their home,” Verret stated. “I make my recommendations and present them with choices but they have the last word. Most of all, we believe in treating everyone with respect and honesty.
“Let me put my experience to work creating a beautiful home or office for you.”

Snapshots

Helen Turner, left, and Margot May unveiled their new company name, Inspired Media, and its logo at the Livingston
Parish Chamber of Commerce Expo May 6. They have acquired ownership of the Livingston Parish Business Journal
and The Journal/Zachary-Pointe Coupee. Publication of the magazines will continue without interruption. Watch for
new and improved features in coming months!

Top photos show vendors and shoppers at the V. Watts Trade Day which is open to the public on the second Saturday of each month. The above photo shows some of the vendors and the huge variety of items that could be found at the Trade Day and in
the indoor Trade Mart which is open each week. The vendors are seated in front, Nana Pepe, Sonnie Henderson, Kathy Fresina, Judy Bridges, Judith Cormier, Melanie Honeycutt and Joyce Neumayer. Standing are Gary Snyder, Dani Borden, Elaine Bourdeu, Tammy Hardy,
Mary Kay Jackson, Tina Moore, Sherry Watts, Albin Seal, Cindy Dutsch, Aline Glaze, Linda Snyder, Virginia Marshall, Robyn Smith, Dee Dee Sibley, Valery Watts and Denton Dansby.

Husband and wife Ryan and Ashlea Pierce have a new RV parts and service store near French Settlement